Maryland is a blue state and nowhere near the southern border, but it will not escape the hardline immigration policies set to be enforced by the next presidential administration when it takes power in January. Immigration lawyers all over the state are preparing for an onslaught of cases when incoming President Donald Trump rolls out his promised roundup of unauthorized people.

It’s difficult to understate the impact such actions would have on a state like Maryland. CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, estimates that Maryland is home to around 300,000 undocumented residents. According to the American Immigration Council, about one in seven Marylanders were born in another country, and many have one immigrant parent.

Maryland is welcoming to immigrants, with many individuals hailing from El Salvador and other countries and working across many fields.

“Nearly a third of all Maryland health care support workers … are immigrants,” says the American Immigration Council, “as are more than a third of the state’s building maintenance workers and groundskeepers.”

Confusion is the new buzzword as Trump makes near-daily statements about mass deportation, setting the scene for contentious clashes between local and state leaders and the federal agencies that deploy resources and execute policy.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore extended an olive branch to the incoming Trump team, pledging on Nov. 8 that he would work across the aisle. “Where we can find common ground, we will, not only as a matter of principle but as a responsibility to the people we represent,” Moore said.

At the same time, Moore has made clear that there will be exceptions to that bipartisan Golden Rule — saying, “We are ready to push back on this new White House, when necessary.”

The immigration story is deeply personal for Moore and Aruna Miller, the lieutenant governor. Moore traces his roots to Cuba and Jamaica. Miller is an immigrant herself with family in India.

As governor, Moore has supported legislation to protect immigrants from the heavy hand of government, enacting policies that keep immigrant families together and open paths to citizenship. He is an ardent supporter of both the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the need to maintain migrants’ Temporary Protected Status (TPS) which could come under assault through White House executive orders. In the first Trump administration, 95% of TPS holders lost their status — taking them off the citizenship path.

An early test for Moore and other governors around the country is how to navigate aggressive moves by the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, local police and even military who could be asked to carry out orders to close the border and round up people around the nation.

So, what should immigrant communities do?

First: Know your rights. Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) spell out rules and scenarios. Read them:

“You have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration or citizenship status with police, immigration agents, or other officials. Anything you tell an officer can later be used against you in immigration court.

If you are not a U.S. citizen and an immigration agent requests your immigration papers, you must show them if you have them with you. If an immigration agent asks if they can search you, you have the right to say no. Agents do not have the right to search you or your belongings without your consent or probable cause.

If you’re over 18, always carry your papers with you. If you don’t have them, tell the officer that you want to remain silent, or that you want to consult a lawyer before answering any questions.”

Secondly, research specific guidelines for Maryland. Every state operates slightly differently when it comes to employment protection, for example.

Lastly, get smart about sanctuary cities in states like Maryland where various counties have established detention rules. In Takoma Park, for example, city officials are prohibited “from assisting federal officials with the investigation and arrest of any person for civil or criminal violations” and “sharing immigration-related information with third parties except as required by law.”

We are in unchartered terrain now. But there still is time to prepare for the worst and pray for the best. It is critical that we stay informed and aware in these uncertain times.

Tara Sonenshine (Tara.Sonenshine@tufts.edu) served as U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and is a senior nonresident fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.